Tips for organizing a sprint

Preparation

Keep a spreadsheet of all participants. It should have columns for all key information, such as:

name, email, etc

bringing a laptop?

sprint arrival time

flight arrival time / flight number

sprint departure time (this is essential later)

flight departure time / flight number

hotel / accommodation with telephone

mobile phone number

vegetarian? √

For timing, plan that the people coming from far away arrive the
night before (insist on this), and leave only in the evening of the
last day (or the next day). This prevents chaos and disruption at the
beginning and end.

Write directions from the airport, train station, by car, and so
forth. The directions should be to the hotel / accommodation. Send an
email with this info, and include links to a mapping site (copy the
query from the browser if you can). If the sprint is far from the
hotel, include a link to its location as well. If the hotel has a
website, include its URL.

If you're doing the organizing, think of yourself as the producer, and don't expect to get much sprinting done.

Reception

Remember that people who've travelled into town will need dinner
and want to gather together on the pre-sprint night. Organize a dinner
at a restaurant. Choose one that can deal with people trickling in.

Make a ‘welcome package’ and leave it at the hotel for each
participant (remember that you only know when they are supposed to
arrive, the actuality will be different, read: later). The package
should include a map of the city (see if you can get free ones at the
tourist office). On the map or a printout mark the location of the
hotel, the restaurant for the first night, and the sprint location.
Include a note that people are gathering at the “first night
restaurant”, the dinner time, and your mobile phone number (don't
assume that people already have it because you mailed it to them).

The Sprint

To make the sprint successful, the participants should only think
about the software. All other issues (the basics of life) should be
taken care of by the organizers.

The sprint space should be flexible, allowing people to move around and form groups in an ad hoc manner.

There will be an introduction or tutorial, and perhaps
presentations in the course of the sprint. Create a presentation area,
with beamer, projection screen, and a podium or place for a laptop. If
space allows, make the presentation area central and permanent. In
Rotterdam we had the luxury of four beamers, and we kept them beaming
as people worked, creating an electric atmosphere.

If you can get one, have a long monitor cable for the beamer. This
allows sprinters to stay in their seat and present, avoiding shuffling
of people and equipment.

If the space needs it, provide a microphone / PA system (this also
helps to keep the focus on the speaker, drowning out inevitable
mutterings). The clip-on type of microphone is preferable to one you
have to hold. Radio mikes are the best. Jim Fulton says he doesn't need
a mike (tell him it makes him even more photogenic).

Make sure there are good chairs. If you're renting them, spend the extra money on quality seating.

Whiteboards are real assets to the process. Get as many as you can,
and enough markers. A flip chart is a good second (have extra pads).
Have some paper around too.

Try and avoid bright fluorescent lighting. Use as much daylight as
possible, but filter it if it's too much. Low light levels work better
for monitors and create a quiet and relaxed atmosphere.

People will need to have checkin rights in the ZC CVS. This is
actually Zope Corporation's problem, and should be taken care of before
people arrive. Not everybody will have it done. Help to smooth the
process by having paper printouts of the contract on hand and fax
access.

Don't underestimate the amount of Internet / ethernet connections.
People will move around, and shouldn't have to spend time running
cables, which invariably end up crossing traffic paths. Wireless is of
course wonderful. If DHCP is not an option, have several lists of IP
numbers and gateway / DNS settings printed out.

The sprint participants will be ‘on a roll’, and many will want to
work in the evening too. Sometimes evening sessions are organized,
where people present / review the work of the day. If the sprint
location can't stay open in the evening, try and figure something else
out (a room in a restaurant, a quiet area in a hotel). If there's no
other option people will work in the hotel lobby.

People should be responsible for their own equipment. Leaving
things overnight at the sprint location is “at your own risk”.

Eating

In the morning there should be coffee, tea, and juice (presumably
people have had breakfast at the hotel, and if they are staying at
other accommodations, make sure it's taken care of).

Have lots of cola and mineral water on hand, all day.

For lunch it's best to do it in the sprint location. Going out
takes too much time and splits up the group. For the Rotterdam sprint
we bought sandwich makings and spread them out buffet style every day.
Nobody complained, and at the end I collected a couple euros per day to
cover the costs (using the spreadsheet to track who ate when). Check
with vegetarians about what they eat for lunch. Always have some fruit
around.

For dinner there are two ways to go. Organize a big dinner at a
restaurant or let people split up into groups. It depends on the size
of the group, but organizing a dinner at a restaurant becomes
problematic (different tastes, costs, some people want to eat
separately anyway).

If you organize a big dinner, price will be an issue. A lot of
people are on low budgets. Make a reservation – and a deal – in advance
at the restaurant. If people order normally (from the menu) it'll take
all night. Work out a limited menu that the kitchen can serve quickly,
for a low price. Include vegetarian dishes. Chinese restaurants work
the best due to their platter in the middle style. Watch out for the
cost of alcoholic drinks (that's where restaurants earn their profit)
since some people drink much more than others.

At the restaurant, keep an eye on where people are putting their expensive laptops.

Compile a list of local restaurants with short descriptions,
location (map) and price. Post this at the sprint location, allowing
people to decide when and where they want to go. Locate a couple
take-out restaurants too. Some people will want to work through dinner.
Also find a late night option, for those who skip dinner and get hungry
later. Most restaurants will let you borrow a menu.

Social types will want to go out later (bad idea, tell them everything is closed ;-) so have a couple locations in mind.

Takedown

On the last day the team will inevitably run out of time. Try and
keep people focused until the end. It's easy to overestimate the amount
of time needed for the takedown. If everybody helps, 15 minutes is
enough.

People will check out of their hotel on the morning of the last
day, and many will bring their luggage with them to the sprint. Have a
secure and out of the way place ready. If the hotel is close by, ask
people to leave their luggage there.

Some people who have the time will want to see attractions, or do a little shopping for kids or friends.